Art Storage Building
30,000sf
Marfa, USA
2025.10 - 2025.12
This project draws inspiration from the distinctive U-shaped buildings that define much of Marfa’s urban fabric. From the horse stables of the historic Fort D.A. Russell to the Block Museum, and from residential compounds to commercial courts, the U-shape recurs across scales, programs, and ownerships. Its persistent presence reflects an efficient architectural response to Marfa’s climate, landscape, and dispersed town structure—consolidating program within a compact form while accommodating diverse uses through a single, adaptable geometry.
Using the U-shape as a generative prototype, the design explores thresholds between interior and exterior, public and private, storage and gathering. Two U-shaped volumes frame distinct courtyards and a narrow valley space between them, creating a gradient of openness that mediates between the town and the adjacent active railway. The northern edge remains intentionally closed to buffer noise and vibration, while the eastern and southern sides open outward, positioning the courtyards as public invitations for both residents and visitors.
Each courtyard offers a distinct atmosphere: one enclosed as a glass pavilion housing a café and resting area, the other a covered outdoor space for informal gatherings. Both serve as public interfaces that draw visitors toward the art-storage volumes. Light-shade structures on the roofs filter sunlight, protecting stored works while generating comfortable, dappled environments beneath.
The valley between the two buildings functions as a linear passage connecting street to rail. Its masonry floors and walls emphasize continuity and orientation, allowing circulation and program to merge into a unified spatial experience.
Overall, the project seeks to integrate quietly into Marfa’s existing character. The U-shaped volumes remain calm and reserved as storage buildings, while architectural expression emerges through the courtyards and valley—spaces where public life and spatial interaction unfold.